Regional Media flipped Variety Hits “93.9 Jack-FM” KQCJ Cambridge IL/Quad Cities to Alternative “Planet 93.9” on Wednesday.
The new brand is being overseen by Dave Levora, who will also co-host mornings. Levora previously worked at multiple stations during his two decade run at Cumulus’ turned Townsquare’s cluster between 1995 and 2014 including 93.5 KORB when it was Alternative as “Planet” in the late 90s. He will also be reunited in mornings with former co-host Darren Pitra. The duo hosted mornings at “97 Rock” WXLP from 2004-2014 and have since hosted a podcast/streaming radio show at NachoRadio.com. Levora most recently hosted mornings at iHeartMedia News/Talk 1420 WOC until exiting in January’s cuts.
The station is promoting it will have a broad playlist stretching from 80s New Wave to current music positioned as “Quad Cities Real Alternative”.
Regional Media, owner and operator of 22 radio signals in Illinois and Iowa announces the launch of Planet 93.9 and the return of the ever so popular Dave & Darren Morning Show. Planet 93.9 is replacing the previous Jack FM format with a new format described as Quad Cities Real Alternative.
Commenting on the new station, Dave Levora, Planet 93.9 Program Director said “The first question any Program Director needs to ask themselves when launching a new station is, Where is the hole in the market? Where’s there the best opportunity to succeed? Naturally, I felt the biggest thing the Quad Cities has been lacking is Dave & Darren in the Morning. We’re thrilled to be back on the air.”
Regional Media continues to invest in local radio at a time when it’s needed most. Local radio in the Quad City area is the lifeblood for thousands of consumers and cannot be done without the most important piece of the puzzle, local people.
“This has been vastly different from my past experiences working in giant corporate radio where a hard drive filled with 250 songs is delivered via UPS without any local input, ensuring your station sounds identical to similarly formatted stations across the country. Regional Media has given me the freedom to build Planet 93.9 on my own terms. Massive corporate radio turned “alternative” radio into its own version of Top 40, with tight playlists playing the same songs over and over again. Planet 93.9 will be unlike those cookie-cutter stations you’ll find in every other market in America. It will be unique to the Quad Cities. I can’t begin to explain how excited I am to share Planet 93.9 with the Quad Cities. Especially these days, when listening to the radio is one of the few things we can still do together as a large group.” continued Levora.
Each weekday morning from 5:30 AM – 10:00 AM you can tune in to listen to the Dave & Darren Morning Show on your radio at 93.9 FM locally, or at Planet939.com worldwide.
Darren Brown COO Regional Media went on to say, “This is an exciting time for us and the local community. To be able to bring back Dave & Darren to local radio in the Quad Cities is just awesome!”
Regional Media has been constructing studio space in anticipation of today’s launch. Planet 93.9 has been welcomed to the air with a brand new state of the art broadcast facility providing the highest audio quality possible. Elements of the Planet 93.9 programming line up will be streamed online in high definition video, and be available on many different platforms including dish communities, youtube, and Regional Media podcasts.
Regional Media President and CEO Fletcher M. Ford said, “Our team is so excited to welcome back Dave and Darren in the Quad Cities. Our personal relationship goes back a long time as I still attribute my Quad City business success directly to the marketing we did together. I was upset when so many Quad-City radio icons including Dave was laid off in January, and the major blow it sent to local radio in the Quad Cities. Total lack of respect for our local talent and advertisers. Our team knew we had to do something. That’s when it all began.”
Regional Media’s strides itself to be the most valued, vital, and vibrant media and entertainment resource for our communities. One that inspires, one that engages, and one that will seize the responsibility laid on us as a community leader.
Planet 93.9 is the Quad Cities Real Alternative. Our take on the alternative format is unlike any other. There’s far too much great music that’s been released over the last 40 years to just pay attention to a small list of songs. Along with what’s happening now, we’ll dig deep into the roots of Alternative with New Wave bands like The Cars or Talking Heads. Planet 93.9 will be the home for the great 80s bands like R.E.M., The Cure, and U2. Of course, we wouldn’t be The Planet if we didn’t play all the 90s Alternative songs you heard first on another Planet. And we do mean ALL of them.
